I have several times...for several reasons. I haven’t walked more than a few steps at water stops in a 70.3 in a while, but with the exception of a couple Ironmans, there’s been some walking in the marathon. Here’s what I think caused it:

- Lack of bike fitness is by far my biggest indicator
- Heat intolerance (train all winter, race IMTX)
- Train on flat terrain (Florida) and race IM Canada, not that Whistler’s run is hilly, but the bike is, so maybe that’s back to lack of bike fitness
- Dehydration (back to heat intolerance)
- Getting mentally broken once I know the days isn’t going well
- And once when I was having a really solid race, thought maybe something great was in the cards, and completely blew myself up at mile 20

Guilty as charged.

I try not to in a 70.3, but it's usually the heat that gets to me, and also probably related to bike fitness.

In my one (first of more) IM, I was just happy to be off the bike in one piece, with plenty of time to complete the race, so was happy to use the run/walk strategy.

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My race site: https://racesandplaces.wixsite.com/racesandplaces

I walk jogged the last 10mi of my Ironman because my legs were cramping to the point of immobilizing me. This is despite being a collegiate runner with more than enough miles going into the race. A very humbling experience I don't want to repeat.

Never until my mid 40s (which is err now) and now seems like there's lots of walking, for various reasons.

I have a problem with gas, bloating, and cramping during runs (in general), and the first few miles of the run this has on occasion slowed me to a walk. It occurs with a wide variety of nutrition and during workouts before which I haven't eaten for many hours, but some nutrition is definitely better tolerated than others.

How about you post a question that makes sense?

Oh indeed i have!
First half: walked around 50 %
Second half: Walked around 25%
Third half: Walked 0 % (not running fast but running all the way, even in some of the depots)

First and only full IM:
Walked through all the aid stations and some more guess 20% maybe, and ran (jogged) the rest.

FOr the first 2: Lack of run training. For the full IM lack of run training /distance.

I plan to run walk a 3:30-40 marathon in my next ironman.

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What's your CdA?

I walked maybe 30mins starting at 27km on my first IM. I was going well until I suddenly got excruciating pain in my arms and sides at about 27km into the run. I tried to keep running but the pain as my body moved with each stride was unbearable. I psyched myself up to continue and then stopped again many times over a couple of kilometers before realising I hadn't had any salt since the bike. I retrieved 2 salt capsules from my pocket and took them. 10mins later the pain was starting to fade. I continued to alternate walking and running for several more kilometers but the walks got shorter and the runs longer until I was running continuously again for the last few kilometers. I think I was picking up speed every kilometer for the last 10km although I was still suffering somewhat. I won't make that mistake again..... I hope.

Yes for all three reasons. At IM Muskoka I bonked in t2 and spend 45 min taking on coke and gatorade to recover. After that it was run walk all the way. At St Croix I got heat exhaustion and had to walk the last 9 miles with brief running intervals.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

I've ran well in some and run-walked others. Primary issue is heat and cramping. Secondary issue the past couple of years has been a sensation of my right foot feeling like it is on fire - that is improving thanks to a lot of stretching.

My first 3 IMs I didn't. Got my IM run close to 3 hours. Thought for sure I was gonna break 3 hours on the 4th IM run (Copenhagen) but I just started feeling bad on the bike and the run was just a disaster and I was forced to walk the final 5 miles. Then the 5th IM (Roth) was even worse. I felt completely without energy at the very start of the bike (seriously, at the start). So by the time the run came around, I felt worse than dead. The second half of the "run" consisted of shuffling a mile, then walking a half mile.

I was very well prepared for all but the first of these IMs. Thought I was gonna crush Roth because everything had been going so well up to that point.

I've had some rough 70.3s but none in which I walked except for maybe a few steps

I always tell myself I trained too hard to walk in the run. However, in my only IM, I walked/ran when my hamstrings cramped around mile 16 - 18. Definitely a nutrition issue because I craved salt and once I got a couple handfuls of potato chips in me from the aid station, I was able to run in the last few miles.

Too many people end up walking because they are mentally beaten.

4 IMs and 9 HIMs and I only walked at 2016 IMChoo. Sunny and 97F and the heat just broke me down on the 2nd loop, especially on those hills.

during IM Chattanooga I walked the aid stations starting about mile 10 or 11. It was my first IM and IM Chattanooga run was pretty challenging. I guess you could argue lack of preparation but my training went pretty well.

Once in a half, had serious GI issues and not sure why. Walked, ran and jogged between vomiting/etc... still won my AG. Came off the bike leading in contention... first and only race I've ever thought about quitting or been in the med tent.

May have drank too much, could have been warm temps, could have been using local tap water in my water bottles, maybe a mouth or two of sea water... I just know at my 3 or so I felt a gurgle and it was a sufferfest until the finish line.

Walked off and on second half of the run in last HIM. I had a leg injury leading up to race so I knew there'd be walking or I could DNS. Had zero expectations on results and no real goals.

One of the most fun races I have ever done. Chatted with other people and even ran with someone from here for a bit. Saw someone with ST shorts on so that was a conversation starter.

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

Jan Frodeno won Kona 2015 running a 2:52 where he walked the aid stations. In my last IM, I walked the aid stations and a steep hill on each lap and put up a very good run by my standards. I think people are well served by planning to walk and starting that process early on in the run. If you wait until you NEED to walk, it is probably a bit late.

Why do people break down and walk for a long time? I think a lot of it is mental. For me, words cannot describe how bad I felt the second half of each of my two IM marathons. It is easy for that feeling to crack you mentally. In my last race, I was chasing an aggressive time goal and based on my pacing I knew I was gonna be close at the finish if I kept running my pace... At the halfway mark, had I been 5 minutes slower at the time with that goal out of reach, I would have probably finished 30 minutes slower than I did not having that carrot of the time goal keeping me on the gas.

I established a strategy of running slow/walking fast during the last 10 kms of my only full IM. During that last 10K i was walking 100m for every 300m of running.

Reason : felt like this technique was still pretty fast and would prevent me from having to walk. Doing this while I still had a choice probably made me go much faster than If i had tried running until totally exhausted.

I'm more interested in who has never walked in an IM (aside from pros)

Both of my Irons I did ran 10 then if I needed, I would walk for rest stations.

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2020 Team Zoot MTN

Never done a full IM, and major props to those who do. But to me personally, if I'm walking, it means I am no longer racing. It essentially means my pace is shot, I'm officially dogging it and I did not train properly (or enough). If I'm walking, there is no way my overall time is going to be satisfactory (to me). I'll finish the race, but I'll go home feeling defeated.

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"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Just depends on your perspective. My first 70.3 I did the usual rookie mistake, overbiked, and blew up on the run after mile 2, eventually alternating walk/run every 0.2 miles. I definitely felt defeated then, even though I actually beat my goal time cutoff.

Subsequent 70.3's I've run the whole thing and felt great, but I was smarter and better trained.

For my (as of now) only full, I planned a run/walk strategy from the beginning, with the goal being for me to run longer and better for the whole race. Basically after every mile I walked for 1 minute, then ran again at my usual pace. Repeated this for the whole race, never had an issue, and had a much better run than many sloggers who ran a slower pace the whole way, or (worse yet) ran until they bonked and had a 10 mile hike. I definitely did not feel defeated, because I followed my plan, and it worked.

Then again, I knew I wasn't "racing" it. This is my hobby, not my job. Even being a competitive guy, I never felt this was a race against anyone but myself. How fast you finish a race is up to you and your training, but how you process that race is solely on you.

I’ve walked the aid stations in an olympic after overbiking in the heat.

I walk and plan to walk on the full distance, it is a brutal day and I am a horrible runner.

I generally shoot to walk through the aid stations and run between them

I've walked the back half of 3-4 70.3's and mile 14-22 of my first Ironman. The half irons were effort related with heat, I went too hard on the bike and lost it on the run, plus in all cases it was hot and humid. For the full, I felt strong but my body decided 1/4 the way into the run that nothing was good and any flavor other than water would be returned to sender as puke. By mile 14 I was cooked, finally got some food and drink down around mile 20 and continued my deadman shuffle until around mile 22 when I got a jog together. Ran the chute like I won the race of course :)

Power meter + HR monitor has been the best luxury investments I have made into this sport.

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Regards,
J. Smith

Yes, I've walked parts of the run for both full and half distances. I don't think it's about lack of preparation, nutrition, or mentally giving up. It was just part of the plan in the first place. I'm not super-human and that's a long distance to race. Strategically walking the aid stations or walking steep inclines is none of those items you mentioned. Not sure why walking has to be viewed as some type of failure. For example, I was walking up the hill coming into Lake Placid faster that the athlete next to me who was running. For some people is like a badge to have not walked any portion of the course or it's some fault.

I walked plenty in my first two half IM distance races, mostly due to the heat & humidity on race day. I walked only the water stops during my first full IM because I was better trained.

I walked about 100m at Tempe Lifetime Tri on the second lap right before crossing the bridge, was embarrassing to myself because I knew then how bad my training was versus my time. I hadn't doing enough volume for the run leg of the race. I was shot...but hell, my training for Cactus Man has been better.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I do walking breaks of 30 seconds every 10 minutes following the Galloway method: but only until 30 km, then I just run. I guess these walking breaks (or the ones frodeno did at the aid stations) are not meant when the Threadowner asked how many walk the run.

So apart from these Galloway-brakes I never had to walk a marathon in an IM. But I do not think they are the reason I never HAVE to walk. I guess most of the people who can't run anymore are bonking. I is not mental. My theory is breakdowns in sport are in the end always physical, and are only supposed to be mentally caused.

I've never had to walk a 70.3. In my first and only IM I had a plan of walking each aid station for 10 seconds then start running again. Best thing I could've done, the last 10k of my run was the quickest 10k of the marathon. Only by about 20 seconds, but still an awesome feeling finishing the marathon strong in your first IM and flying past people struggling!

THis was me in a nutshell for my first. I did 4 min to 1 min run/walk as the plan (and the walks were not leisurely, would drop to about 15-16min/mi pace). This was the plan going in, and I knew that it would yield an acceptable time for me. Finished within about 30 min of standalone marathon time.

For my second, I walked from mile 18 in. The whole day was a mess. Left my bike SN bag at the room (luckily I had my juice, and just made my wife hand it off to me at the 1/2 way point). Wore the wrong shoes, and was a bit undertrained. Tried to just run it out without walking to boot and crashed and mailed it in at 18. Walking 8 miles is tough too.

I walked the marathon at IM Florida this year because:
1. Got stung by some jelly-fish on both laps of the swim. Inhaled a bunch of water when it happened and spent the entire swim puking. Sorry whoever was behind me.
2. Three flats in the last 10 miles of the bike. Crap from road construction and debris on the last stretch of road. I was well on my way to a 30 minute bike split PR while staying well within my goal power and HR numbers, despite the jelly stings and vomiting.
3. Cramps/puking caught up with me and mentally I was just done by the first 10k, but I wanted to finish so I just walked the rest.

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Don't drown. Don't crash. Don't walk.

Some friends recently adopted the approach of 4KM run and 1min walk. They've managed to put a very impressive Marathon using this "method" running below 03h40min. Their coach suggests this 1min walk to proper eat and drink.

So 10min walk... Haven't tried, but looks interesting to avoid forgetting to eat/drink.

Walked at some point on all 4 IM.
Due to cramps, GI distress (nutrition screw ups - too much, wrong type), dehydration at different levels at different points.

Hot shot takes care of the cramps now.
Focused on water intake on the bike.
Focused on the right nutrition during the run = less volume, better quality, better pacing at the start of the run to allow absorption.

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Ryan
http://www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
http://www.TriathlonTrainingDaddy.com
I got plans - https://www.trainingpeaks.com/...dotcom#trainingplans

rotosound:
"I walked the marathon at IM Florida this year because:
1. Got stung by some jelly-fish on both laps of the swim. Inhaled a bunch of water when it happened and spent the entire swim puking. Sorry whoever was behind me.
2. Three flats in the last 10 miles of the bike. Crap from road construction and debris on the last stretch of road. I was well on my way to a 30 minute bike split PR while staying well within my goal power and HR numbers, despite the jelly stings and vomiting."


Ok, that is just a horrible race experience and you hadn't even gotten to the run! Good for you for gutting it out. I have a feeling some people wouldn't have left T2.

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Blog: https://swimbikerunrinserepeat.wordpress.com

I think I've walked in all my 1/2 & full IM. Usually get to the 5-6 mile mark then walk the aid station and run in between.

I've walked in 2 Oly's. One was after a bike crash. made it 3 miles and walk ran the rest. Second was 90 degrees at the end of the summer when I had really started to slack on training. If I hadn't signed up months in advance I'd have never done it.

My one half was also a walk run. NOLA cancelled last fall and did Austin the next weekend instead. So a bit overtapered, definitely undertrained, not ready for a much hillier course (burned matches on hills), plus wife had a miscarriage right before. Really bad couple weeks and did the race just to cash in on the months of training and get my mind off of other things. Really enjoyed the experience, but there was no way I was getting through that without walking.

First full is IMTX in about a month. Going in with the intention to not walk, but I'm also not going to blow up and walk half the run leg just because I'm too proud to walk run.

Wow thanks for the responses so far everyone! As someone who is yet to race in a half or full I was under the impression that everyone pretty much run the whole way. Now it seems quite normal for periods of walking.

If it's IM St. George 70.3 you WILL walk at least once. Guaranteed!

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

Most people walk at least some of the aid stations, so if your question is ' did you walk even a little bit' then most people do and can put up some fantastic times - even if you're just talking about the run.

If your question is did you walk a big portion of the run - there are a wide range of reasons ranging from strategy to weather to the reasons you posed in your question.

I've walked portions of two IM's outside of aid stations.

• At IM St George the run had a LOT of vertical ( I think over 4,000 ft iirc ) and once I realized my time/ race goals were a miss, I walked the uphills which must have accounted for several miles.
• At IM Boulder in 2015 the reservoir was a petri dish of e-coli from the surrounding cow pastures @ a blooming 75'. By halfway through bike I couldn't keep anything down and reached T2 with an upset GI and a calorie deficit. This was my home court ( I lived in Boulder then) and was very well prepared the weather and course... but I ended up walking much of the first 5 miles. After an hour of getting some calories and a few trips to the porta-johns ( sorry to the passing crowds - it was noisy!) I felt better and had a decent run for the last 15-18 miles.

At any IM race, there are racers and finishers. For the 30-40% just finishing, many are walking as soon as they calculate they will get across the line ahead of the cut. On multi-loop courses, you can spot the waves. Sub-10 hour racers are striding strong and may walk a couple aid stations - 10-12 hour racers are walking the aid stations and may take stroll here and there... once the 14 hour+ racers are on the course, the majority are walking most of the time.

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

More than will admit it.

I have my first olympic tri coming up in a few weeks. I don't plan to walk during the run but if I have to, I will.

I only started running this year, prior to which I haven't run for over a decade. When I started running this year I couldn't go longer than 30 seconds at a time without a lot of pain. So I would love to run the 10km but if things don't go to plan on race day I already know I have come a long way in a few months.

i do a planned run/walk...did not at earlier ims, but find that i recover quicker that way..usually 2:00/:30

I once shuffled a marathon after a 112 mile bike in which I crashed at mile 59 and tore a ligament in my knee. "running" a marathon while bleeding from 7 different spots on your body is not recommended. yet, im signed up for another full for 2018.

I've done 5. Was carrying a knee injury into one. I ran the whole way in that. Was scared if I stopped I wouldn't be able to go again. That's my run pb by 8min and my only kq

Yup, and on Olympics, too...for myself, it was all mental. Got in my head each time and couldn't dig out. It happens. :)

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- John
"Have courage, and be kind."

I have almost always undercooked the bike but that has led to some very satisfactory IM runs.

The one exception was IMTahoe...... it was really hard to go easy enough on the bike. No matter how much I tried to hold back, I still had to get up those hills. I knew with 30 miles left on the bike that the run was going to suck. I still ran-walked a 3:48 but it was very disappointing to feel like my legs just wouldn't do what I wanted them to do.

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Jason
None of the secrets of success will work unless you do.